Speaking To You
by Shembre
Summary: The Pride Lands still have much healing to do, as do its king and queen. Nala, the survivor, and Simba, the guilt-ridden bachelor, struggle to communicate. Attempting to break her king of his habits, Nala only succeeds in losing her temper and Simba's interest. No, Simba isn't in the jungle anymore. He's part of a pride now... but maybe Nala needs him more than he thinks. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: A little something in between projects. I saw a picture that dyb on dA created on the theme of Nala and Simba's early relationship and this sort of came out of that. It's three chapters total, and is a bit of a prequel to Pound of Flesh but it can stand alone. Enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Speaking To You**

"No disrespect to Timon and Pumbaa, but Simba, you're no longer a cub. You're our _king_. They can afford to do nothing. You can't."

"I won't stop being friends with them."

"You know I'm not asking that you—"

"Then how many times do I have to tell you that—"

"'Timon and Pumbaa aren't getting in the way of my duties,'" Nala quoted. She blinked harshly. "Well, they are."

Simba clenched his teeth. How could Nala be so unfair? Get _so_ upset about his friends? Sure, he spent a few hours during the day with the meerkat and warthog who'd raised him from a cub, but was that so terrible? He flicked a pebble with his paw. He wouldn't abandon his friends now that he was back in the Pride Lands. And Nala owed Timon and Pumbaa everything. Pride Rock had a king because they'd saved him from dying in the desert. Without Simba, the lionesses would still be at Scar's beck and call.

"You're never around." Nala lashed her tail. "I can't talk to someone I can't find. I _just_ chased you down so I could talk with you. And now you're ignoring me. Great. Don't listen to me, Simba."

He rolled his eyes. "I am lis—"

"You don't check in with any of us. You don't help with hunting—"

"You know I patrol to keep the hyenas away. And it's a lioness's job to hunt."

Nala's eyes widened. "Not when the land's dead and everyone's starving." For a second, her lip curled. "C'mon, Simba. You're not in the jungle anymore."

He'd lived in the jungle with Timon and Pumbaa longer than he'd lived in the Pride Lands as a cub. He'd gone to sleep with stars peeking through a thick canopy of leaves and branches. He hadn't been able to get the crick out of his neck since the first night he'd slept the stone floor in the family den. In the morning, he craved the scent of damp leaves and earth.

"Do you have _anything_ to say?"

What did she want? What could he say? For her, he'd only existed barely a moon now, and this wasn't an argument over who could climb to the highest tree branch, or who was better at catching mice, or who got to play with the tail of the pride's kill. Those were arguments between cubs. This fully-grown, sultry, bitter, beautiful, angry Nala was a stranger.

"Learn some responsibility, Simba."

"Because I haven't?" Simba scoffed.

Nala narrowed her eyes and stared him down. "You have _no idea_ what I've done to keep this pride going." She lowered her eyes. The all-to-familiar fire in the pale-furred lioness's aqua eyes diminished. Nala turned away from him. Simba raised an eyebrow.

"You're here in the Pride Lands, and you're part of our pride. We're still rebuilding and need everyone's help right now." She muttered something else under her breath before she jogged away.

 _Should I follow her?_ Simba had told Timon and Pumbaa he'd meet them at sunrise at the small watering hole they'd found a few days before. After he walked the border, they were going to go swimming, and the last thing he wanted was to be around an angry Nala.

 _She did look really unhappy…_

Shuffling his paws, he turned and decided to meet his friends. The lionesses didn't need him as much as Nala thought.

New grasses were beginning to take root, and the trees had little buds on them, but the land had been ravaged by the hyenas, and time was the only thing that could heal what had been done to it. Word would also have to get to the herds that the Pride Lands were safe for grazing again. Simba's stomach growled at this observation as he walked. Now that he thought about it, he had yet to see more than a small cluster of skittish impala rooting around in some undergrowth.

 _But even if Nala wants my help, I'd be useless… The biggest thing I've ever caught was a chameleon that looked older than Rafiki._

Simba found his friends. As they walked the border, Timon and Pumbaa bickered like usual. Simba did his best to play along, but his heart wasn't in it. At the end of the walk, he felt like he might need some time to himself.

"You know, guys… I think I'm gonna call it a day."

"What? So soon?" Timon watched Simba's face. "Hey, what's goin' on? You sick? You look sick."

Simba shook his head. "I'm not."

"What's wrong, Simba?" Pumbaa questioned.

Simba looked away. "Nala's mad at me."

"Ah. Well y'know I've seen the toothy end of that lioness when she's angry." The meerkat flinched. "Sheesh. I still have nightmares."

"But that's only because she was starving," Pumbaa put in.

"We've… been upset with each other. Her and I. We fought this morning."

Timon's eyes widened. "She didn't lay a claw on ya, did she?"

"No! Of course not!" Simba pursed his mouth. "It's just… I-I just don't know what to say to her anymore. I don't know what she wants."

"Did you ask her?" Pumbaa tilted his head to the side.

"Well…"

Timon waved dismissively. "He can ask Nala all he wants. Ladies don't know what they want. Simba, if I were you, I'd just keep up the good work. You're doing fine! I mean, you killed that uncle of yours, right?"

Simba's face flushed. He muttered, "I didn't kill him… the hyenas did."

"Either way you're doing a heck of a job being king, eh?"

As he listened to Timon's empty praise, Simba wasn't so sure. But, he did feel like he was doing the job of his father. Someone had to make sure the pride was safe. His father had never helped with the hunting—his mother had almost seemed bothered at times when he'd poked into her duties. Didn't Nala have a handle on things?

"I don't know… Maybe—"

"A swim will pick you right back up, buddy!" Timon jumped onto Simba's shoulders and attempted to massage his neck through Simba's thick mane, but quickly gave up. "What's one afternoon? And it'll give her time to think up an apology."

Simba doubted that Nala would be the one to offer an apology, but perhaps she needed a breather to relax; he still felt agitated, too. He sighed and gave in. "All right. But only for a little while. I'm serious." He turned towards their new watering hole.

"Oh, boy! You made the right choice, pal!" Timon leaped onto Pumbaa's back, and the warthog reared up and trotted after Simba.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did Mufasa ever frustrate you so much?"

"When I couldn't win an argument," Sarabi said.

Nala and the queen mother sat together after their hunting meeting with the other lionesses. They planned to hunt after the sun had set.

"Two strong-headed mates don't make for an easy marriage, but I wouldn't have had it any other way after seeing the way Ahadi treated Uru."

"Is it is so much to ask for Simba to even look me in the face when I'm trying to tell him that we need him? This isn't a game. I wish…." Nala shook her head. "I wouldn't be so frustrated if it wasn't Simba. At least we knew Scar was insane." She growled and shook her head again.

"Don't upset yourself more. I know he's trying your patience."

"I want a lion. I don't need a cub."

Sarabi pursed her mouth. "Maybe a visit to Rafiki's would be a good idea?"

 _He could talk to Simba._ Nala nodded. "Maybe Simba needs another bump on the head." _Knock some more sense into Simba with that shaman staff of his._

Sarabi raised an eyebrow.

Simba listened to Rafiki, and he certainly wasn't listening to her. Standing up, Nala dipped her head to Sarabi. "I'm going for a walk. As much as I enjoy your company, I'd like to be alone."

"I'll be in the den. See you for the hunt." The elder lioness gave Nala a smile as she stood up to leave. "This might be harder for you than dealing with Scar. Time will pass. Don't force it to move quickly. You're both young."

Sarabi was probably right. She usually was. Simba wasn't so thick-headed that he couldn't change eventually, though that didn't soothe her hurt in the present. Nala decided to walk to the watering hole, which had partially replenished itself after the rain that had fallen on the day Scar had been dethroned.

Simba's bachelor life needed to go. She was tired of him saying 'hakuna matata' like it made neglecting the pride okay… Neglecting _her_ okay…

What had she expected? He'd lived outside of a pride for years with the two biggest bachelors she'd ever met. Maybe her expectations were too high for Simba, but he hadn't _once_ asked what her life had been like during Scar's reign. Didn't he care? Was he scared of hearing it? He hadn't been home, after all, to prevent it.

 _But maybe's it's for the best he doesn't know. I don't think I have the stomach to tell him everything that happened._

Nala's head was too busy. Frustrated tears threatened to roll down her face. But she took a deep breath to gather her nerves when she saw that there were a few lionesses at the watering hole. They'd been absent at the meeting.

Nala drank a bit and listened to the grumbles of the lionesses before she said, "There's going to be a hunt tonight if you would like to join."

A lioness with tan fur and a thin brown stripe on her head snorted. "We can feed ourselves."

Zira irked Nala. Made her skin crawl. They were a pride, and yet there were signs that they were soon going to be a pride very much divided. Zira and her friends had been on a scouting mission when the uprising against Scar had occurred. A few of the lionesses had very young cubs, which were now missing. Sarabi thought the mothers were hiding their offspring for fear Simba would kill them.

 _He'd never lay a paw on them._

Nala didn't have the patience for Zira today. She twitched her tail. "We'd appreciate your help. That's all," she said as she walked away.

"Don't hold your breath," muttered a lioness.

It was yet another thing that Simba seemed oblivious to. As she walked, Nala decided that a meeting with Rafiki _was_ in order. She didn't think she could go another day with Simba acting the way that he was.

After arriving at Rafiki's, she called for the shaman, hoping that he was home. She sat down at the base of the giant tree. After a few moments, his gray-maned head appeared among the leaves.

"How can I be of service, Nala?" The shaman squinted down at her. He climbed down from the tree. "By de look on your face, I'd say that your mind is full of worry!"

"I need you to talk to Simba."

"About what?"

Nala screwed up her face. She muttered. "About how much of a cub he's being…"

The shaman chuckled, much to Nala's annoyance. "So he's being a bit childish now, is he?"

"He's selfish, too. All he does is play."

"Ah, I see."

"I mean—he does patrol the border, but it's more than that—since Scar died some of the other lionesses have been acting as antisocial as him. They're unhappy that Scar is gone. And there are problems that need to be solved around the Pride Lands. Just yesterday I had to settle a dispute between two groups of birds who wanted to use this one tree for their nests. I didn't know what to do. They weren't happy when I told them no one could use the tree and to go find new ones. What else could I tell them? And they kept asking where Simba was. Last night he didn't return to Pride Rock until dark after he didn't say a word to me all day. I pretended to be asleep, I was so mad… What I don't understand is why he can't be responsible." Nala looked to the side. "And it's more than that. We can't seem to talk without me yelling and Simba shutting down. Is it too much to ask that things somewhat go back to the way they were before he ran away?"

"You have both grown up. Seen tings that shouldn't be seen. You _both_ have more growing to do. These tings take time."

"I know…" Nala perked up. "But you'll talk with him then? Let him know he needs to be more responsible?"

The shaman scratched his side and flicked a bug from his fur. "No, I will not talk to your king— _you_ must talk wit him."

Nala snorted. "He doesn't listen to me! And you're so much wiser than me, aren't you?"

Rafiki rubbed his chin. "I know the love you have for him, but you do not act out of love when you wish to control your king."

Her conversation with Rafiki seemed to be going nowhere. Someone needed to hold Simba responsible. "My king needs to grow up. He's not a cub anymore, singing about how he can't wait to be king. Well, he's a king now. And he's no king."

"Nala, don't you talk about your king so harshly." Rafiki shook his staff at her and the dried gourds adorning it rattled sharply. "He's learning. Just as you are. You must stop your judging."

Feeling the weight of his scolding, the lioness slumped her shoulders. The turmoil in her mind grew. Maybe she was expecting too much. "Sorry. It's just… just…" Nala's face grew warm and her eyes misted. She was at her wit's end and Rafiki wasn't even going to help her. Her body felt exhausted, her energy sapped by her anger and stress. She hadn't slept well the last few nights.

Rafiki raised a gentle hand to her cheek, making her jump. He swiped away her tears. "Now, now. Dry your eyes. When you judge, it clouds dat good sense between your ears. Tell him what is in your heart. Dat is all. This is more than his role as king."

Nala tried to calm herself. She took several breaths. Maybe Simba hadn't listened to her because all she _had_ done was judge him. Would she listen very hard if someone talked to her that way? She remembered how Scar had always complained about what they hadn't done for him, when they'd done all they could. At the end, he'd never spoken without rage in his voice, and what was worse than him shouting was him talking softly…

"You will go to him out of love, yes?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Okay… I'll try." She was still unsure what he completely meant, but she knew the shouting had to stop.

"Come again if he still does not listen. I have my ways," the shaman promised.

Nala let out a breath of relief. _Okay, I'm not entirely alone then. I have a backup plan._ "I should get back home," she said. "Maybe I'll catch Simba before our hunt tonight."

Rafiki nodded and rested his weight on his staff. "Yes… but der is one last ting."

Nala rubbed the rest of her tears from her face and raised a brow. "Yes?"

Rafiki placed his paws on her shoulders.

"Dear Nala… you are expecting."

"Expecting…? Simba to listen…?"

Rafiki chuckled. "Expecting the next heir! That is who you are expecting!" He pointed to her belly.

 _What?_ Nala's eyes widened. "I… I… Are you sure?"

Rafiki smiled and nodded. "You are carrying the future of this pride as we speak."

Nala stared in a daze at the shaman. "Oh…a prince…"

"Or a princess!"

Now? Panic filled her, but she shoved her fear down. A cub, or maybe even a few, were supposed to be joyous moments, especially for a queen, but the pride could barely feed itself. She forced a smile. "Well, that's great." she gushed. _Yes, great. Now something else I need to talk about with Simba…_


	3. Chapter 3

"Simba! Are you joking?"

Simba cracked an eyelid and looked up. He was lying on his back with his feet dipped in the water.

Nala loomed over him with a scowl on her face.

Simba rolled over. "I needed some time for myself."

Nala's face crumpled in anger. "You have a responsibility, Simba, to our pride. Didn't I tell you that I was concerned about you dodging your responsibilities? Simba, I—" She stopped when she noticed that Timon and Pumbaa were gaping at her. She lowered her head and turned her face away. "Could you guys excuse us? Please."

Timon scoffed. "You always have something you can never say in front of us." He then sighed and shrugged. "C'mon, Pumbaa. We better go. Lover's quarrel, you know."

Simba cringed at the distaste that ignited in Nala's eyes at Timon's crack. "Guys, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Bye, Simba."

"Bye, Pumbaa. Bye Timon." He'd been stupid to lie out in the open, but Nala had embarrassed him. She couldn't order him around like that! Simba turned to Nala. She had her back to him with her head lowered. Her shoulders were shaking with anger.

"Do you know how embarrassing it is to have you yell at me in front of my friends? At least have the decency to yell at me when no one's around." He lashed his tail. "Or why don't you stop yelling at me at all. I'm really tired of it."

She lowered her head further.

"You know… Do you _enjoy_ yelling at me?"

She shook her head.

"Sometimes I think you do!" Now that he did have something to say, wasn't she going to look him in the face so they could see the anger and frustration in each other's eyes? He ground his teeth. He was done being bullied. He heaved a breath and was about to go on when he heard a sniffing noise. He raised an eyebrow and listened for a moment.

"Why does it have to be like this?" Nala sniffed again.

He'd expected fury and fire. Was she crying? He listened again, and all the rage within him died out like a flame in a rainstorm. He couldn't remember the last time she'd cried in front of him. Maybe never.

"I don't want to feel so angry when I see you… I don't want to yell at you…"

He cleared his throat, still standing behind her. Should he comfort her or stay back? "I just wanted some time for myself, and I feel like I'm doing a good job. I don't understand why you're so disappointed."

Nala let out a loud sob as if his words were claws.

Simba's face flushed. "Maybe if you didn't tell me what to do…" And? The words died on his tongue. He suddenly felt very sick and wretched. Justifying an afternoon of laziness felt wrong and stupid when there were tears on his mate's face! He still wasn't sure what was making her so upset all the time, but… but… He hardly wanted to admit it, but maybe this was his fault…

 _Maybe Pumbaa was right. Maybe I do need to ask her what's really wrong…_

"I shouldn't have to tell you what to do…" Nala paused to compose herself. "I'm not your mother. And I'm not Zazu. It means so much that you're alive. This isn't what I imagined when I realized that you weren't dead." She wiped her face with her paw. "I guess I built something false up in my head. It's just… I feel so alone in this."

Simba blinked. So maybe this wasn't so much about him helping everyone… and more about him standing at her side. Finally, Simba closed the space between them and sat down next to her. He nuzzled her and rested a foreleg over her back. At first, she didn't move into his embrace, and sat there stoically. He waited for her to speak or move. When it was clear she was seemingly frozen, he said, "Nala, I didn't mean… I… I didn't know."

She sighed. "How could you?" Her words didn't sound spiteful. She was merely pointing out a fact. "All Scar did was order us around. He would strike out if we didn't meet his expectations. I think living under his example for so long rubbed off on me."

Simba balked. "No, of course not, Nala! You're nothing like Scar."

She turned to him sheepishly and looked at him through damp lashes. "You can't imagine what he put me through…"

No, he didn't think he could. Guilt brought tears to his eyes and a flush of heat to his face. Guilt because he'd ignored his mate. Guilt because he'd thought she was nagging him. He'd let Nala down. He never really cared to spend time with her, either… _Did I even say a word to her yesterday?_ In the midst of their arguments, he realized then how distressed Nala had been. _No wonder._

And he couldn't imagine what Scar had put his mate through. As far as he was concerned, he'd gotten off easy escaping into the desert and growing up in a jungle. _And how stupid am I? I've never asked if she wanted to talk about it._

"You don't have to tell me now, but when you're ready…" he nuzzled her gently and placed a paw on hers. "I'm here for you. I'll listen. Really listen"

Slowly, she nodded. She sniffed softly. "I'm sorry I've yelled at you."

"Nah." He nuzzled her harder. " _I'm_ sorry… I'll try to be around more."

Nala sighed. "It's just that Zira and her friends have been acting so strange… and we could use any bit of help with hunting."

Simba pursed his mouth. "I can try to talk to them." He hesitated before adding, "I… You're all so great at hunting… and I'm… not. At all. That's why I haven't… But I might be able to catch small things." Yes, even if he couldn't pull down a whole zebra or wildebeest, or even stand to look at the sight of a stampede, there were plenty of hares, mice, and birds to eat.

His offer to try harder made Nala crack a timid smile. He nosed her tears and licked them away. "No more tears now. Anything else?"

She then smiled, almost conspiratorially, though there was still sadness in her eyes. "There is something else..."

Simba tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"We're going to have a little prince or princess… I'm pregnant. Rafiki told me when I visited him today."

Simba's eyes widened. "Oh." An heir? He hadn't imagined starting a family so soon, but this news instantly lightened his heart. Some of his best memories were of him and his father spending time together. He hugged his queen. "That's great!"

She was stiff in his forelegs. "But what if there's not enough food? What if it takes longer for the herds to return? What if—"

He licked her cheek. "It doesn't matter. I'll make sure you and our cub get enough food. Don't worry. You're both my priority."

Nala smiled, relaxed, and nuzzled him.

Simba returned her nuzzle and lovingly licked the top of her head. He looked over her shoulder. Sure, the land was a ragged mess, but it was hobbling back to life slowly.

So were they.

"I love you, Simba."

A dove flew overhead and called.

Simba nuzzled Nala harder. "I love you, too."


End file.
